John Wick: Chapter 4 star Keanu Reeves was initially considered to be one of the villains for Fast X.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fast X star Alan Ritchson revealed that Reeves had been in talks to portray Aimes, head of The Agency and one of the villains in the franchise's tenth installment. "It was just a little stroke of luck and good timing," Ritchson said. "I was working on a movie with Hilary Swank up in Winnipeg in the freezing cold, and I got a call that things had shifted in the plans with Keanu Reeves, which is I think who was originally intended to play my part. Tough act to follow."

RELATED: Fast X Opening Weekend Box Office Projected to be Almost as Big as Its Cast

This is not the first time Reeves was considered to join the Fast franchise. Fast & Furious franchise writer Chris Morgan shared that Reeves had been in talks to join the film series in 2019's Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. In the film, he would have played the voice in charge of the Eteon organization. As for Ritchson, the actor boarded Fast X in May 2022. Known for his breakout role as the titular Jack Reacher in the Prime Video series, Reacher, Ritchson also portrayed Hank Hall/Hawk on HBO Max's Titans until the character's death in Season 3.

According to Ritchson, complications surrounding COVID-19 restrictions and weather conditions almost derailed his part in Fast X entirely. "I thought it was over before it began, but luckily we worked it out and they were able to push the dates a little more," he said. Ritchson also discussed further behind-the-scenes changes regarding director Justin Lin, who departed the project in April 2022 over a reported conflict with Diesel and was replaced by Louis Leterrier. Lin directed five films in the Fast and Furious franchise, including 2021's F9.

RELATED: Fast X Is Designed to Return to the Franchise's Street Racing Roots

Jason Momoa Is the Fast Franchise's Newest Villain

Fast X, the tenth installment in the Fast & Furious Saga, stars Jason Momoa as Dante, the son of Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes who was brought down by Dom and his crew in 2011's Fast Five. Momoa boarded the sequel in January 2022 alongside Charlize Theron, who will return to the franchise as the criminal mastermind Cipher, first introduced in 2017's The Fate of the Furious.

Franchise star Vin Diesel announced that production had begun on the tenth Fast and Furious movie in February 2022. Before Fast 9 even entered development, Diesel was planning for Fast X to be the first of a two-part final installment in the Fast Saga, which began with The Fast and the Furious in 2001. However, he recently revealed that the franchise's two-part finale will expand into a trilogy. "Going into making this movie, the studio asked if this could be a two-parter," Diesel said. "And after the studio saw this one, they said, 'Could you make the finale, a trilogy?'"

Fast X is now in theaters.

Source: EW